Free Republic

Monday morning, as I did my morning bicycle ride (I live in a safe neighborhood), I listened to Breitbart News host Alex Marlowe interview John Nolte, another Breitbart personality about COVID vaccination hesitancy. By the end of the interview, they’d wandered through several logical fallacies that need to be exposed so people can accurately balance vaccines versus treatments. Marlowe and Nolte quoted data purporting to show that Washington state counties that Trump won have much higher COVID death rates than counties that Biden won. Vaccination rates are blamed for the difference. Marlowe went on to declare that it’s been proven...

Fatigued from the punishing and arbitrary restrictions, we saw South Dakota like a man dying of thirst sees a glass of water.I shut the car door and sighed. “I don’t want to go back,” I said, stuffing my mask in the cupholder. We were about to get back on the interstate as we wound our way through Montana toward Washington state, our home. It wasn’t a decision, just how I felt. But saying it out loud set us on an unstoppable course. Just a few months later, we were traveling back across the I-90 to the Black Hills of South...

On Monday morning, an Amtrak train derailed while crossing an overpass in Dupont, Washington. Law enforcement say at least six people are dead and 78 others were injured. Independent journalist Mike Cernovich tweeted an archived link to a now deleted article from “prominent,” far-left website It’s Going Down, on an ANTIFA group bragging about pouring concrete on train tracks in Olympia, WA.

The massive, Washington state-owned vehicle pool will begin the switch to electric power with the goal of having the whole fleet fully electric by 2040, under an executive order signed by Gov. Jay Inslee. The order outlines specific target goals for all of the approximately 5,000 state vehicle from snow plows to state trooper patrol vehicles. Broadly, it calls for 40% of the fleet to switch electric by 2025; then to 75% by 2030 and ending at 100% compliance five years later. The order allows some deadline and vehicle-type leeway for state-owned medium and heavy-duty trucks. Under the order, 30%...

Seattle Public schools announced on Tuesday that there would be no school on Friday due to a staffing shortage. In an email to parents the district announced, "Seattle Public Schools will be closed on Friday, November 12. We are aware of an unusually large number of SPS staff taking leave on Friday, and do not believe we have adequate personnel to open schools with the necessary environment for high-quality learning. This is a change from the published schedule, and we recognize the late notice creates challenging circumstances for many families." Students had a day off already scheduled for Thursday for...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — U.S. governors want a seat at the table as international leaders prepare to gather in Scotland at a critical moment for global efforts to reduce fossil fuel emissions and slow the planet’s temperature rise. At least a half dozen state governors — all Democrats — plan to attend parts of the two-week United Nation’s climate change conference in Glasgow, known as COP26. Though states aren’t official parties to talks, governors hold significant sway over the United States’ approach to tackling climate change by setting targets for reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to renewable energy. Governors slated...

Washington State fired Rolovich and four other assistant coaches Monday night after they refused to comply with a mandate that required all state employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee had set a deadline of Monday for employees to be vaccinated or to receive an exemption and accommodations from their direct supervisors. WSU athletic director Chun on Monday said Rolovich's firing is a for-cause separation, noting that he could not meet the requirements in his contract, which paid him $3 million annually. Therefore, Rolovich will not continue to be paid by the school. Brian Fahling, an attorney in...

Washington State Trooper in Yakima, Wash. signs off after 22 years — fired by Gov Inslee for being unvaccinated. “This is the last time you’ll hear me in a patrol car and Jay Inslee can kiss my ass.”

Plaintiffs seeking religious exemptions allege the state questioned the sincerity of their religion.. Dozens of State Patrol troopers, firefighters and other state employees have filed a lawsuit against Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, for his COVID-19 vaccine mandate, alleging he is overstepping his authority and violating state law. The lawsuit, filed Friday by Seattle attorney Nathan Arnold in Walla Walla County Superior Court, lays out seven causes of action against Inslee and pays particular attention to the nature of the state's religious exemptions, which plaintiffs allege constitute a deprivation of religious freedom under the state Constitution. In August, Inslee...

12 percent of those who died from COVID-19 in Israel since the beginning of September vaccinated with three doses. In the latest stats the 127 deaths are broken down as 65 unvaccinated, 42 two doses of vaccine and 15 three doses of vaccine. The headline tonight over the stats emphasizes fewer reported cases in Israel and a lower rate of positive tests for the coronavirus... Israel public media (Kan) reporting tonight that for the "first time" since the latest "wave" began in Israel most of those hospitalized in serious condition are classified as "not completely vaccinated". The report implies that...

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed into law a bill that incorporates the doctrine of “equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism” into the training for all K–12 educators across the state. Under Senate Bill 5044 (pdf)—which passed the state legislature in April—school districts in Washington must use one of three professional learning days to specifically train all staff in the topics of “cultural competency, diversity, equity, or inclusion.” Those topics were among several listed in the bill’s text: “The legislature plans to continue the important work of dismantling institutional racism in public schools and recognizes the importance of increasing...

Nowadays, the government needs more than gasoline taxes to fund its vast mission to expand, replace and preserve transportation routes in Washington state. Legislators have drawn up a menu of 33 tax and fee increases under the proposed 16-year Forward Washington plan, updated last week by Senate Transportation Committee Chair Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens. That way, perhaps no single cost will provoke enough public fury to torpedo the plan. “Nobody likes to be taxed, but we also want to make this fair as we spread it across different sectors,” Hobbs said Friday. His approach holds direct gas-tax hikes to 9.8...

Washington state now has vaccine passports, thanks to Governor Jay Inslee. He won’t call them vaccine passports because it’s politically unpopular. But under his newly unveiled guidance, Washingtonians would have to quite literally show their vaccine papers to enjoy special privileges or basic rights like the public education you’ve paid for. Under the power of the state, the Inslee administration is encouraging private organizations and religious institutions to create vaccinated-only sections in their venues. Inslee is not merely promoting vaccine segregation; he’s even forcing people to use separate entrances when entering venues. Inslee is even allowing public and private schools...

Governor Jay Inslee says you could expect to see more places asking for your vaccination card for entry. The governor said Thursday that he will make announcements on places in Washington that will have vaccination requirements by mid-May, which could include some cruises, sporting events, performing arts and school graduations. .... Gov. Inslee says he is in full support of private companies and nonprofits that want to have vaccine requirements. He says more colleges and universities are likely to add them, and he expressed his support of those efforts as well.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has signed into law legislation that bans the use of Native American names, symbols, and imagery as mascots, logos, or team names. The bill, which passed through the Senate by a vote of 40-6 and passed in the House with a vote of 90-8 six days later, is set to take effect next year and considers such uses of Native American names to be “racially derogatory or discriminatory” and “antithetical to the mission of providing an equal education to all.”

Breaking News Plus (Analysis, Comment): I am now able to bring you something regarding the events in recent hours at the US Capitol. In earlier material seen later in this summary a deteriorating situation is on video at the Capitol. There were injuries reported. One killed by the Capitol Police, 14-year Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt...Three other deaths reported in the protest due to "medical emergencies". CBS, ABC and CNN reporting that members of the cabinet are discussing the removal of President Trump from office... One can see that the story of today is written in earlier stories published on...

The protest will go on as planned tomorrow against the coronavirus restrictions endorsed by the incoming Governor of Utah Republican Spencer Cox. The protest to be held as Cox's motorcade heads to an ampitheater in southern Utah for his inauguration... Court hearings for two Washington restaurants opened in spite of COVID-19 restrictions imposed by Democrat Governor Jay Inslee set for Tuesday... The British police crackdown on protests opposing the coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions in the country continued this weekend... British Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushing tighter controls and restrictions in the coming weeks... Restrictions that have been imposed in the...

A full weekend of protest in Bainbridge Island, Washington. A round the clock demonstration at the home of Democrat Governor Jay Inslee who's imposed coronavirus restrictions and controls... Four people stabbed two police officers hurt following ANITFA attacks on supporters of President Trump Saturday evening in Washington... One person shot and four police officers hurt as ANTIFA attacked pro-Trump demonstrators in Olympia, Washington yesterday... The Proud Boys supporter of President Trump arrested and accused of shooting an ANTIFA member yesterday in Olympia, Washington identified as Forest Machala, a federal government employee... "Achtung" Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel pushing for a new...

The pants are down and the truth is out "The Five" of the US Supreme Court turned out in reality to be only "The Two". The "Conservative Movement" sales pitch for four "Conservative" justices (Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett) turned out to be a scam... Day 272 Of The Dictatorship of COVID-19: Trump's Shrewd Response Way back in March President Trump put Vice-President Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus response leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force with its cast of characters including the high-profile Dr. Anthony Fauci and others like Dr. Robert Redfield of the Centers for Disease...

Governor Jay Inslee finally loosened some of his inconsistent and non-sensical coronavirus restrictions. Before you celebrate, know this brazen announcement is transparently self-serving. In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, one day before the only gubernatorial debate he’d agree to, Inslee announced he’d relax a handful of restrictions so businesses like restaurants and movie theaters could reopen at either greater capacity or under less onerous mandates.